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Pathfinder 1E Thread-o-haunts?

One of my favorite little innovations (after CMD and CMB) to Pathfinder is the Haunt. I love this concept. Even though I largely have abandoned games as complex as Pathfinder (or even 3.5, when I can help it) in favor of things like m20, the Haunt is still a superbly useful innovation, that's easily adapted to any system that bears even a passing resemblance to d20.

However... I need a lot more of them than I currently have. If there's already a big thread, or list-o-links, or something like that, that'd be great. If not... how's about we start making some and archiving them here? Please?

My gaming group will thank you. Or not, depending on how viciously nasty your haunts are. :)

And, in case you need a reminder... here's a link to the specific page in the PRD that outlines how to use and create haunts. It's fairly straightforward.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/mastery/haunts.html
 

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Kinak

First Post
The examples in Skinsaw Murders (Rise of the Runelords book 2) shook my players up pretty badly. There are also some in book 6 that we're just getting to tonight.

I'm thinking of trying a different tack with these, by giving the PCs more of a chance to choose their poison rather than just "haunt pops out, save." It sounds less bad, but the saves generally negate the haunt's effects, when you really want the party getting worn down.

As an example of the approach I'm using:
Gluttonous Ghost
Description: The ghost shovels fistful after fistful of food into its mouth, stopping only to gesture you forward towards its delicious meal. A horrible hunger clutches you... it looks delicious.
Some Choices (roughly in order of probability):
Resist it - You fight off the suggestion at the cost of 1d6 Wisdom damage (Will save for half)
Do what it wants - You eat the meal, with effects described in the AP.
Eat food you brought instead - Gorge yourself on supplies, eating several days worth of rations and leaving yourself nauseated for the next hour (Fort save for sickened instead). You also wash it down with whatever liquid you're carrying, potentially becoming drunk or consuming several potions.
Eat gold you brought instead - As above, but you end up swallowing a lot of gold coins instead of food. In addition to the status effect, take 1d4 Constitution damage if nauseated (half if sickened).
Resort to cannibalism - Deal 1d6 + Strength bonus damage to your nearest companion. Each of you suffers 1d4 Wisdom damage (Will save for half).
Eat the ghost - Destroys the haunt, but deals 2d6 Wisdom damage as its memories flow through you. This provides several clues to what has happened and also makes all your attacks ghosttouch until the end of the day.

So, the block ends up a lot longer (although you could probably stick with three options and be fine), but I think it'll end up working better in play. I'll be trying these on my players tonight, so we'll see what happens.

Cheers!
Kinak
 

gamerprinter

Mapper/Publisher
Rite Publishing offers a series of Haunts Guides written by T.H. Gulliver of the #30 series (meaning there are 30 each per supplement).

#30 Haunts for Houses
#30 Haunts for Ships & Shore
#30 Haunts for Objects - this one is pretty cool with haunts on objects, and not locations, kind of like a cursed item.
#30 Haunts for Kaidan - this one, I got T.H. Gulliver to write for my published setting. The difference with this one is the background information for each haunt is extensive, and many of the haunts are inter-related, so they could be easily combined into an entire adventure, or multiple adventures, plus there's some additional rules and type of haunt included.

While not a Haunt supplement, I wrote: Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House, which is an extensively mapped Japanese bath house as a complete adventure site (not really a full adventure in of itself), with 3 included haunts, a ghost in varying CR and a haunt related curse, called the Ju-on (grudge) curse which strongly reflects the movie, The Grudge, in it's design.

Be sure to read the reviews on all these products - all are highly rated!

Here are some custom haunts I created for use in a home game with a druid/haunted forest flavor:

Field of Mangled Ravens Haunt CR 2
XP 600
NE haunt, persistent
Caster Level 2
Notice Perception DC 12, (to notice the bird corpses beginning to writhe)
hp 12; Trigger proximity; Reset 1/day
Effect scattered across a 20' x 20' area of forest ground lie dozens of mangled raven corpses strewn across the ground as a mass sacrifice on either side of the path. When approached by the first spellcaster as a single target the dead ravens begin to stir and caw in a frightening cacophony having the effects of the spell, cacophonous call *.
Destruction collecting the remains and burying off the grove mount, then blessing the remains destroys the haunt.
* Advanced Players Guide
[Cacophonous Call, target one creature, effect on a failed Will check, gain the nauseated condition, duration 2 rounds, SA yes]

[Greater Cacophonous Call, increases the CR for this haunt]


Strange Hanging Fruit Haunt CR 4
XP 1200
CE minor haunt (10' radius under branch), persistent
Notice: Perception DC 15 (to notice the 'strange fruit' beginning to spin)
hp 14; Trigger Proximity; Reset 1 hour
Effect: From the branches of several trees hang fetishes made from the desiccated corpses of birds, small game, and rodents bound tightly in twine and hanging from the tree. When living creatures walk under the trees, the fetishes begin to spin. Negative energy fills the area under the branches, strengthening negative channeled energy and giving undead a bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws as the spell desecrate. There are several of these haunts throughout the woods. This haunt is persistent. The effect lingers for two hours.
Destruction: Casting consecrate on the fetish remains destroys the haunt.
[Desecrate, area 20' radius emanation, effect undead gain +1 profane bonus to attacks, damage, saves, and +1 hp/HD, duration 4 hours, save none, SA yes.]


Lupine Burial Haunt CR 4
XP 1200
NE haunt (10 ft. by 10 ft. patch of leaf covered earth)
Caster Level 4
Notice Perception DC 13 (to notice the earth and leaves beginning to shift)
hp 8; Trigger proximity (associated); Reset 1 hour
Effect in the surrounding the hanging fetish trees is a crude unmarked cemetery for sixteen wolf zombies that claw their way to the surface and attack as the spell animate dead. When used as associated haunt, this haunt activates 1 round after the Strange Hanging Fruit Haunt begins.
Destruction Blessing all the unmarked shallow graves destroys the haunt.


Bloated Stag Haunt CR 6
XP 6200
NE haunt, persistent
Notice: Perception DC 15 (to notice the soft give of the ground beneath your feet and a sweet stench.)
Caster Level: 6
hp 16; Trigger touch; Reset 1/day
Effect: a rise in the ground on the path up the grove mount lying beneath a shallow covering of dirt and leaves appears to be as a recently sacrificed stag, bloated in decomposition. Any disturbance by a walker's foot or stabbing object causes the bloated stag to explode with rotting death gases as a visible green cloud blocking the path as the spell stinking cloud*.
Destruction: remove the bones from the path and place in a grave away from the grove mount, then blessed destroys the haunt.
* Ultimate Magic
[Stinking Cloud, 3rd level spell; effect 20' radius 20' high, duration 6 rounds, Fort negates, SA no; create bank of green fog, living creatures become nauseated (only single move action/turn) and for 1d4+1 rounds after it leaves.]


Sacrificed Bull's Rest Haunt CR 9
XP 5800
NE haunt, persistent Caster Level: 9
Notice: Perception DC 23, to notice the rising stench of a great dead animal in the area
hp 19; Trigger touch; Reset 1/hour
Effect: laying near the sacrificing stone at the center of the stone circle on top of the grove mount is a bovine skull. Though the sacrificing stone is ruddy with dried blood, there does not appear to be anything on it. However, when someone approaches and places a new animal for sacrifice, the body of a bull appears to rest on the stone already. Those touching the alter become affected as the spell fleshworm infestation *, then the bull's corpse disappears.
Destruction: the bull's corpse needs to be removed from the grove haunt, burned then blessed destroys the haunt.
* Ultimate Magic
[Fleshworm Infestation: 4th level, range touch, duration 1 round/level (9), cause an infestation of ravenous worms in flesh touched, Fort save every round or take 1d6 damage, 2 points of Dex damage, and become staggered; if save, no damage, no Dex damage, only sickened for 1 round. * UM.]
 

gamerprinter

Mapper/Publisher
Do you recall the movie, Poltergeist, the first one. When the parapsychology student raided the fridge for food, and ended up with maggots live in some food, the steak crawling across the counter, etc. This haunt is supposed to emulate that, plus actually attack PCs in its vicinity. This is one of the more interesting haunts included in the Haunted Ryokan portion of The Gift, Curse of the Golden Spear: 1 - the first of 3 modules set in Kaidan.

Vicious Food
CR 3 (XP 800)
CE haunt (5 ft. by 10 ft. area near table) persistent
Caster Level 3rd
Notice Perception DC 16 (to notice the smell of the food turning foul)
hp 13; weakness slow; trigger proximity; reset 1 day
Effect The food animates and attacks anyone in the room (same statistics as a rat swarm including filth fever; as the spell summon swarm; Pathfinder Bestiary). The haunt will pursue characters out of the room. This persistent haunt ends when the swarm is destroyed.
Destruction The haunt is destroyed when the innkeeper's wife is laid to rest (remove curse).

Note: most haunts end when the spell duration associated with the haunt ends, however, in the #30 Haunts series from Rite Publishing, some additional haunt types have been added, including 'persistent' haunts which has a duration mentioned in the haunt itself, beyond the normal duration of the spell.
 

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